The invention relates to a dual-head Insulation Displacement Connection (IDC) terminal for transmitting high-speed electronic signals, and particularly an IDC terminal that conforms to EIA/TIA Category 6 standards and has a simple structure and compact size.
In recent years networks communication systems have become very popular for transmitting data. Network communication systems require high transmission efficiency. This not only demands high quality connection lines, but also requires high quality connectors, especially when the transmission speed becomes faster. In general, the actual network communication paths consist of transmission media and transmission connectors. The transmission media include Twisted Pairs, Coaxial Cables, Optical Fibers, etc. However, the network communication paths mentioned above still have drawbacks. As a result, signal quality deteriorates as the frequency of network communication systems increases. For instance:
1. Near-End Cross Talk (NEXT) phenomenon: when two cables are close to each other and generate induction, interference occurs due to electromagnetism and the Cross Talk phenomenon is produced.
2. Impedance: the impedance of the transmission media must match the system to effectively transmit signals.
3. Return Loss: as the impedance of transmission systems is not continuous, reflections are generated and result in power loss.
4. Attenuation: when signals are transmitted through the transmission media, signal intensity and power attenuate with the signal travelling distance.
The standards announced by Electronic Industries Association (EIA) and TIA have been adopted by IEEE. Hence EIA/TIA 568 standards have been included in 802.3u standards. Every transmission medium and connector is required to conform to these standards. Those that have conformed to the standards are classified. At present, Category 6 standards have become a basic requirement. Therefore, it is necessary to target some of the problems that still exist to develop improved solutions.
Conventional dual-IDC terminals, as shown in FIG. 1, include terminals 11 which are mounted parallel to the longitudinal axis of the terminal seat 12. Every IDC terminal 11 is equally spaced from one another. Hence every pair of IDC terminals 11 is affected by the interference of neighboring terminals. Transmission quality thus becomes very poor. In order to resolve this problem, some techniques have been proposed in the prior art. For instance, Siemon Co. suggests using metal shielding. As shown in FIG. 2A, the intervals between four pairs of IDC terminals 11 are increased, and each pair of the IDC terminals 11 is guarded by a shield blade 13. Through the interactions between the shield blade 13 of two pairs of neighboring IDC terminals 11, interference is reduced. However, the total size of the IDC terminals has to be greatly increased. Material and production costs also increase. Panduit Co. proposes a technique that mounts a pair of IDC terminals 11 in two rows in a staggered fashion. The intervals of any three neighboring IDC terminals 11 are about the same. While such a design enables any two neighboring IDC terminals 11 to obtain the TT compensation effect as shown in FIG. 2B, the thickness T of the total IDC terminal set increases. As a result, a general wiring machine cannot be used to install the communication core lines.
The primary object of the invention is to provide a dual-head IDC terminal that is installable by a general wiring machine and able to enhance bonding of the terminal seat and the IDC terminal, in order to increase the compensating effect and improve transmission quality.
The dual-head IDC terminal of the invention includes a plurality of IDC terminal pairs and a terminal seat. The IDC terminal is formed in a dual-head fashion with the IDC ends located on two ends thereof. The terminal seat has a plurality of insert slots to install the IDC terminals. Each pair of the IDC terminals has a smaller interval. In other words, the distance between the terminals in each pair of IDC terminals is smaller than the distance from a certain pair of IDC terminal to the neighboring pairs of IDC terminals. Hence a compensation effect is generated in each pair of IDC terminals. Meanwhile, the IDC terminal may be installed in the terminal seat in a biased manner such that the terminals of the same pair are closer to each other to keep the thickness of the whole IDC terminal set the same. Moreover, communication core lines may be installed by a general wiring machine. There is an extension flap located proximately in the middle portion of the IDC terminal. The extension flap of one pair of IDC terminals is extended outwards towards another IDC terminal so that different pairs of IDC terminals of the same attributes are close to each other to enhance the compensation effect and improve the effectiveness.
Moreover, the extension flap may be designed and mounted substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the terminal seat. The extension flap also may have an anchor hole and the IDC terminal may be anchored by a cover plate to increase the fastening strength and facilitate assembly.